The Fan
by Keylock
Summary: Kise would like Kuroko to come over, though the latter is reluctant. Not because of the blonde's sisters, parents, or anything, but for another, noisier reason.


Japan and its residents weren't exactly strangers to dreadfully scathing summers, like the one of this particular year. Temperatures were climbing high and it had been an unusually long time since the last shower. As such, residents of the humid Tokyo were wary and expectant, doubt taking up residence in their minds that they would be dry much longer.

One of these residents was Tetsuya Kuroko, currently sitting in his air-conditioned house, where he planned to stay until the temperatures became less drastic. Or until something roused him from his metaphorical slumber, whatever that may be.

His family could be heard mulling about the house (which the azure-eyed youth couldn't imagine why they would want to) from behind his cracked door, in case Tetsuya Two ever woke up and desired to leave his presence.

An internal smile crept across Kuroko as he glanced down to the floor on the right-hand side of his bed, where the Alaskan Malamute slept soundly. As if that would happen, or at least in the extremely near future.

Surprisingly enough, Riko laid off the practice this summer, for the most part. Well, mandatory practice; she made sure of it that they would at least amuse the thought of it./p

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind of either Tetsuyas getting up and being active crossed Kuroko's mind did his cell phone go off, directing his attention from stalking his dog to retrieving the phone and flipping it open.

From: Kise Ryouta

Subject: I'm Bored!

Kurokocchi, come over to my house if you can? (◠‿◠✿) Aominecchi says he can't come and Midorimacchi told me to die! (°ロ°)

"That's a surprise," murmured Kuroko as he read the subject of the text, beginning his own response. It was simple, short, to the point. 'We'll see.'

In reality, dread clawed at his insides. He didn't want to go, but doing so would be at least somewhat better than lazing around his own house

It wasn't that Kuroko necessarily disliked the blonde haired model, even with the glaring differences in their personalities.

The thing that he disliked was the fan.

Not a fan as in someone that rooted for either of their teams or enjoyed Kise's modeling, but a fan as in… to cool you off. In addition to the air conditioning, his family was running their fair share of these.

The fan wasn't anything special, it was just a plain old ceiling fan that moved around the stuffy air that had found its way into the Kise household. So why did Kuroko hate the fan so much that he considered lying to his former teammate in order to avoid going over there?

That noise.

That god-forsaken noise.

The offending fan (or as Kuroko had nicknamed it, hellspawn) made a loud, repetitive creaking noise when it turned, and it seemed that Kise's family didn't seem to mind. Or at least, those that actually bothered to be around. The energetic blonde's older sisters stuck to themselves, only occasionally emerging. His parents didn't seem to care and, like their daughters, kept their distance.

His phone went off again. It was Kise, with a text of excitement, riddled with emoticons like the last. Kuroko released a sigh, looking to the still-sleeping Number Two for help. Nothing but the rise and fall of the small black and white dog's back.

Careful to get off his bed on the side that his dog wasn't on, he made his way down the hallway, seeking out his mother. His grandmother wouldn't mind and his father would send him to her in the end, anyways. She wasn't difficult to find

The woman wasn't busy, just sitting in the living room with her husband, trying to escape the summer heat like their son.

"Excuse me," he said in his usual quiet manner. Both of his parents looked up at him, questioning his introduction. Kuroko cleared his throat and met his mother's gaze. "Kise-kun has asked if I can visit him…"

They didn't question his voice trailing off, as it happened often, but they could sense the doubt in his voice.

"Sure, Tetsuya-kun, if you really want to." His mother chose her words carefully, trying not to betray her knowledge. She looked to her husband, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"Thank you, mother."

"Have fun! And leave Number Two here this time, please."

Kuroko figured he could take a walk despite the hellish heat. The Kise household wasn't that far from his own, and though he likely wouldn't end up playing basketball, considering he didn't have access to a hoop, running would do him at least some good.

Seeing as he was only going over to Kise's house for a few hours and not overnight, the blue-haired teenager simply retrieved his phone from where it was laying in his room and braced himself for impact with the muggy outside air. He took a last cool breath, said goodbye to his parents, and set off down the street, gradually breaking into a run.

Sweat soaked through the back his loose t-shirt in record time and his breath was more labored than at the start in a heartbeat. His stamina was startlingly low, but what could you expect from his activities since summer started? They consisted of nothing, nothing, and absolutely more nothing. Except for breathing, sleeping, eating, and playing with Number Two. The point is, he wasn't very active, and scolded himself as he ran.

It was a Saturday, and as such the sidewalks were scarcely populated, leaving the sweating teen to fight for stifling breath after stifling breath all by his lonesome. Not that he minded, and not that strangers would notice him.

After a mildly grueling jog, Kuroko paused in front of the house of his friend's, pausing to catch his breath. Palms flat on his upper thighs, back bent, sweat dripping down the curve of his nose and down to the pavement, heaving for air. He must have been noticed by somebody through the window, because his observant eyes caught a flicker of movement from behind the curtain. When he finally did recapture his breath and stepped up to the door, a very excited Kise was already there to greet him.

"Kurokocchi! You came!" The 'Kurokocchi' in question didn't respond as he was dragged into a hug, keeping his usual deadpan expression through the brief duration of the greeting embrace.

The shorter of the two was led inside by his 'host' and into the foyer, where he carefully removed his shoes and nudged them out of the way. No sooner had he stepped inside the house, though, did he hear it.

Thankfully, Kuroko's poker face remained intact despite the disgust bubbling up beneath the surface. Ugh, that noise… perhaps he could feign not feeling well or something..?

No, it was too late for that. And then he'd have to put on an act to his parents and grandmother as well. Definitely not worth it. Poor Kuroko would just have to endure. On the bright side, it was immensely cooler in the house than outdoors. The sweat that had soaked into his shirt was turning cold on his back.

pIt seemed that Kise's older sisters had already retreated to elsewhere in the house, leaving most of the house devoid of people; the blond's parents apparently still had work, which wasn't surprising; Kuroko wasn't sure of where Kise's mother or sisters worked (or if the latter two even worked at all), but his father was a pilot.

"Kurokochiiii, did you walk all the way here?" Kise half-whined and half-asked, stooping down and draping his arms around the blue-haired male's neck and shoulders, pressing the sweaty shirt against his stomach and Kuroko's back.

Usually, the blond would've been shaken off (and possibly slapped), but he who would perform those actions was too busy glaring. Glaring at the unlit ceiling fan, which was squealing like all hell.

Luckily, Kise took this as Kuroko trying to glower up at him and laughed, releasing his friend and instead dragging him to the sofa, where they both sat down. Kuroko sat like the typical guest, on the very edge of the couch, palms flat, spine straight, no gaps between his fingers. Of course, he sat in a similar fashion even at home. Of course, he was less rigid and was usually absentmindedly toying with Number 2.

The fan went on and on, squeaking and squealing and shuddering. It riddled the pass specialist with disgust.

"Kise-kun."

"Hm?"

"Why did you ask me to come here?" Oops, that came out a bit gruffer than intended. Well, as gruff as Kuroko could get. With any luck, Kise wouldn't be able to detect the little bit of emotion that slipped through the tight cra-

"Wh-whaaaat? You don't like it here?" Despair coated Kise's words (as did the ever-present flamboyancy), and it made Kuroko internally cringe. Now he screwed up.

"I mean... uhm... I like it here, but..." Blue eyes flicked to the ceiling fan and he resisted the urge to gnaw his lip or some other kind of nervous tic. Considering it was Kuroko, that wasn't too difficult. That deadpan expression was ever-present and there wasn't a reason it couldn't stay in gear right now. "...We're not doing anything is all." Phew; nice save, for not being very social.

And Kise bought it, too.

"Oh, okay! Why didn't you just say something, then?"

Kuroko rolled his eyes, shooting a look of malice at the fan as he went.

Kise reached for the remote on the side table, clicking on the television, idly flipping through the channels, commentating on them from time to time. His guest sometimes made remarks and asking to turn the volume up, until they finally settled on a movie and it was hard to hear much of anything but the actors.

That is, except for the fan.

And Kise's sister's door opening and her irritated steps sounding as she came down the hall, and her agitated voice. Soon enough, a tall, slender girl appeared at the edge of the corridor, her arms crossed over her chest, eyes sparking with annoyance.

"Oi, Ryouta-kun, would you mind turning the television down? I can scarcely hear myself think, let alone much of anything else. Also, hello, Kuroko, I thought I saw you running to our doorstep. Long time no see! You must have been crazy to run in this heat. It's a wonder you haven't collapsed yet, especially if you haven't gotten anything to drink. I hope Ryouta-kun is being nice! Anyways, turn it down, or I'll be back out here!" There was a bright chime to her voice and her wide smile almost outshone the glaring summer sun, but both of the boys got the message.

It seemed that Kise wasn't the only one that had a gift of gab and a flamboyant personality. However, as loud and angry as any of the three siblings could get, it was still a vain attempt.

A vain attempt at quelling the noises of the fan.

The noisy reign that the ceiling fixture had over the room and the Seirin player increased as the volume of the television decreased.

Kuroko struggled to actually listen to and pay attention to the movie (rather what was left of it), but it was hopeless. The creaking noises were far too much.

As far as he could gather, seeing as he had been distracted for the other three quarters of the movie as well, it was a comedy of sorts. And… that was about it, before his train of thought was wrecked by an especially loud clatter from overhead. Even louder than what had been experiencing since he'd stepped into the house.

Of course, Kise was oblivious while Kuroko startled slightly, causing the former to laugh. On the small sofa, they were nearly shoulder to shoulder, so they were practically brushing arms. Neither of them really paid it any mind.

"Kurokocchi," chuckled the blonde, managing to plant his hand on the light blue mess of hair, prompting him to attempt to slap his hand away with a sharp, softly-volumed retort, "it's just the fan! Besides, not like it'll just fall down. It's in there securely!"

_Are you sure about that?_ Kuroko thought bitterly, casting another look at the menace. _Because that noise it's making tells me otherwise._

Of course, he didn't speak this out loud, just sighed and turned his attention back to the movie. His blonde-haired neighbor did so as well, firing his laughter back up again at a certain scene in the film.

An hour dragged on, Kise's sisters flitted in and out of their rooms, the movie finished, and the fan continued its noisy barrage of unpleasant sounds.

And as a result of that last one, Kuroko swore he was going to develop a twitch beneath one of his eyes. But now, as he sat here watching television with Kise, he had the second tough decision of the day. His parents and grandmother likely just wanted to see him home by sunset, and of course, it was mid-afternoon. That would be awhile.

Still, he should probably get going. If he was still there when Mr. and Mrs. Kise got home, he wouldn't be able to escape.

So it was a choice. Brave the blonde's parents and the fan…

Or the scathing heat outside?


End file.
